Black History Month serves as a mirror of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Throughout its history, an observance that started out as a commemorative event of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include gatherings where individuals of African heritage are compensated to talk to predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The wave has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was established in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the middle of February. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in October in the UK, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.
The period has developed since those days, placing less emphasis on the accounts of colonial slavery and civil rights battles, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the way the observance is observed is a manifestation of the contemporary political context. How it evolves is a valuable example in how assimilation leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the purpose of it, which is to tackle structural and organizational discrimination.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to rethink Black History Month better than the current time in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the recent season we observed the largest far-right rally in British history. the Conservative leader, the African descendant in charge of the right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a legislator feels emboldened to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. At the same time, far-right parties are expanding in Europe as a entirety.
In the United States, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A campaign to erase the history of people of color and narrative from the historical documents is under way. One of the former president's early administrative commands targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration symbolises how minimally it can be impactful if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content festivities of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the situation of the current era. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. A university professor, a professor at a learning establishment, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The issue with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a temptation to just do away with things like Black History Month entirely, assuming they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an time that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and tradition of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an foundation that a lot of work has been invested in. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out across all seasons (as various establishments are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not evade governmental matters, and provides room for individuals, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is mere awareness of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of far-right rallies in the public spaces? Organizations who celebrate it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and awareness of subtle slights, but faced with the threats that impact society if opposition to discrimination is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and adaptive. It could be that an total re-identification is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
